The news of Bon-Ton’s imminent demise hit Michael J. Lisicky pretty hard. The author and department store historian, who wrote “Shop Pomeroy’s First” and other well-researched books about retail, was sad to hear that the chain, which dates back to 1898, was going out of business.
Adding to the blow was that Bon-Ton was the successor of Pomeroy’s, which was once the big retail name in Reading and other cities in Pennsylvania. Founded in Reading in 1876, Pomeroy’s once towered over the downtown at Sixth and Penn streets.
Bon-Ton took over the company in 1987 and dropped the Pomeroy’s moniker in 1990.
“It’s the final loss of Pomeroy’s,” Lisicky said.
Lisicky said that anytime a regional department store goes out of business it can be devastating to a community, from the lost jobs to its distinctiveness.
“It’s not just the suffering, but the finality of it,” Lisicky said. “It also affects a social or regional identity.”
The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. was not just the Bon-Ton name; it carried six other brands under its umbrella. That made for a 250-store footprint that stretched from New England to the Rocky Mountains.
One of those brands was Younkers, an Iowa institution with more than 160 years of history. Lisicky said Younkers had such a loyal following from shoppers in Iowa and Nebraska that some major national retailers stayed away.
“Younkers kept Macy’s out, and that’s no small feat,” Lisicky said. “Des Moines and Omaha will be without a traditional department store. It had a strong foothold in those markets.”
Another concern for Lisicky is that retailers like Bon-Ton – and Sears and J.C. Penney – also filled anchor spots at malls in small towns across the nation. With empty spaces popping up in the tiny malls, which in more isolated areas can serve customers for hundreds of miles, shoppers will be left without full-service stores.
“There will be a loss of jobs in small towns, especially in smaller malls that depend on Bon-Ton and Sears,” Lisicky said. “It will also hurt access to that type of retail for a more mature audience that doesn’t shop online.”
At least for Reading, the perseverance of Boscov’s has kept it on the retail map.
“As long as Boscov’s recognizes its market, and keeps aiming for it, it will be OK,” Lisicky said. “I hope shoppers will continue to be customers.”
Contact Business Editor Evan Jones: 610-371-5066 or ejones@readingeagle.com.
